In Recognition of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

NEWS RELEASE

In Recognition of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
Boy Scouts of America Helps Youth Lead Physically Active Lifestyles

According to the American Heart Association, the prevalence of overweight
children and adolescents has almost quadrupled since the 1980s, while research
consistently shows that many of today's youth are leading an increasingly
automated and sedentary lifestyle. As one of the nation's leading youth
organizations, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is recognizing National Physical
Fitness and Sports Month (May) by encouraging youth to increase their levels of
physical activity in their daily lives, as well as hosting a Stars & Strides
5K Run/Walk during their National Annual Meeting, May 28, 2005.

For nearly a century, the BSA has been known for fostering an environment of
physical fitness for the youth of America. Boy Scouts take an oath that "On my
honor I will do my best ... to keep myself physically strong." As part of its
ongoing Good Turn for America program, the BSA is urging American youth to look
to physical fitness and participation in sports for entertainment, rather than
more sedentary choices like television, computers, and video games. Since its
inception, the BSA has awarded nearly 17 million physical fitness-related
badges.

"It was not so long ago when young people spent hours playing outside and
were involved in a host of physical fitness and sports activities, and young
people were much healthier than today," said Roy Williams, Chief Scout
Executive of the BSA. "For 95 years the BSA has encouraged youth to get more
involved in physical activity, and National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
gives us an excellent chance to revisit that commitment."

Through the Good Turn for America program, the BSA encourages Scout troops
and other volunteers to offer community- and school-based sports and fitness
clinics. These can include supervised physical fitness testing; a day or
weekend hike; a fun run/walk/cycle event, such as the Stars & Strides 5K
Run/Walk; or Scout-organized field games.

Among the BSA's multiple health-, nutrition-, and fitness-related awards
is the BSA Physical Fitness Award, which is based on seven components of
fitness. The BSA encourages Americans of all ages to focus more attention
on their physical health and well-being, and offers the following insights
on conducting a physical fitness test based on its seven components of fitness
(more information is available at old.scouting.org):

Posture

Posture can be evaluated with a posture-rating chart. Compare a
photo of your starting posture, noting the different body
segments.

Accuracy

Measure your accuracy with the target throw. Make 20 throws with
a softball at a circular target; score is based on the number of
times the target is hit.

Strength

Get a fair assessment of your strength using the sit-up. Lie on
your back with knees bent and feet on the floor; cross your arms
on your chest with hands on the opposite shoulders. Have a partner
hold your feet to keep them on the floor. Curl to the sitting
position until the elbows touch the thighs. Arms must remain on
the chest and chin tucked on the chest. Return to the starting
position, shoulder blades touching the floor. Your score is the
number of sit-ups made in a given time.

Agility

Measure agility using the side step. Starting from a center line,
sidestep alternately left and right between two lines eight feet
apart. Your score is based on the number of lines crossed in 10
seconds.

Speed

The dash is used to measure speed. The score is the amount of time
to the nearest half-second running a set distance that can be
increased each year.

Balance

The squat stand is used to measure balance. Squat with hands on the
floor and elbows against your inner knee. Lean forward until your
feet are raised off the floor. The score is the number of seconds
held in that position.

Endurance

The squat thrust is used to measure endurance. Start from the
standing position to perform the four-position exercise. Score
is based on the number of completed squat thrusts made in a
given time.

Serving nearly 4.1 million young people between 7 and 20 years of age with
more than 300 councils throughout the United States and its territories, the
Boy Scouts of America is the nation's foremost youth program of character
development and values-based leadership training.